'Good question': New Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf yet to land on captain
Kristian Woolf admits he is yet to decide who will captain the Dolphins this season in the wake of Jesse Bromwich's retirement.
After leading the side in their first two seasons, the Kiwi great bowed out at the end of 2024 and leaves a major hole in the squad.
In his first year in charge as head coach, Woolf will now be tasked with anointing a new skipper and it's not a decision he has given too much thought to at this stage.
READ MORE: 'We will not forget': Zverev heckler opens up on fiery moment
READ MORE: NRL star set for 'showdown' with club bosses as exit looms
READ MORE: Bunnies boss busts 'myth' despite evidence to the contrary
"That's a good question, because I haven't come up with that just yet either," he told SEN radio on Wednesday morning.
"That will be something we do before round one and there's a number of candidates.
Kristian Woolf has taken over as Dolphins head coach. Getty
"We've got a really good leadership group with Kenny Bromwich, Felise Kaufusi, Mark Nicholls and Tom Gilbert - they have all been a part of that and they've all developed.
"We're pretty well off there and they are a great group to work with as leaders. That will be where our captaincy comes from and I know that any one of those four guys would do a terrific job and make the club really proud.
"I want to get into the trials and see who I think the players want to follow when they are on the field and I will make my decision after that."
As it stands, the Dolphins are one of just three NRL clubs yet to confirm who will lead their first grade side in 2025, with the Eels and Warriors also weighing up the decision.
While seemingly not in the mix to captain the Dolphins, superstar fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has hit the ground running after an explosive Pacific Championships campaign where he helped the Kangaroos lift the trophy in October.
Woolf confirmed the fan-favourite will don the No.1 jumper and said it was an "easy conversation" after he spent time in the centres last year under Wayne Bennett.
"Hammer is going really well actually, I've been really happy with how he's come back in after Christmas," the coach said.
"He looks lean, he looks fit and he's been doing some really good stuff around that. He only came back in after Christmas because he played all those games for the Australia.
"The thing with Hammer is you always want to walk in and see him with a smile on his face and enjoying what he's doing and at the moment that is what I'm seeing.
"The plan for him is that he's gonna play fullback - I think that's his best position for us.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow is one of the NRL's most exciting players. Getty
"I know he plays centre at representative level, but that's probably because there is so many good players around and he has that ability to play two positions.
"We're very happy with what he brings as our fullback. I had a chat to him at the end of last year … we had Trai [Fuller] at fullback, which we thought was the best scenario.
"But when I spoke to him [Tabuai-Fidow], he made it really clear that he sees himself as a fullback and I agree with him ... it was a pretty easy conversation."
Fuller will miss the majority of the season with an ACL injury suffered while playing in the grand final for Redcliffe last year.
